#metoo puts chill on valentine’s day

NEW YORK: The #MeToo movement is putting a chill on romance this Valentine’s Day, and a deep freeze on what for years has been a route to marriage: the office love affair, according to relationship experts.

The number of Americans admitting to being in an office romance has fallen, and some feminist activists call that change as well as zero tolerance for unacceptable behavior in the workplace long overdue. The movement is sparking the kind of direct communication essential for love, they say.

#MeToo has dampened one traditional route to dating: Office romances. The percentage of US workers saying they were in one fell to a 10-year low of 36 %, according to a 28 November-20 December online Harris Poll of 809 private sector employees sponsored by recruitment site CareerBuilder. “The #MeToo movement is splashing cold water on whatever embers of romance are struggling to survive between men and women,” said Dr Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist and author of “Bad Boys: Why We Love Them”.

Co-workers who start dating stand a good chance of staying together: 31 % of office romantic relationships lead to marriage, the survey showed. Given the allegations of sexual assault by prominent men, workers would be wise to proceed slowly on workplace flirtations and ensure that their approaches are open and consented to, said Carrie Lukas, author of “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism.”